Finishing Moves
by ReDragon37
Summary: (REVISED!) A short while after the end of the manga, things STILL haven't changed much. Ranma is quickly getting tired of this when a new guy shows up. But is he here to add to the chaos? Or to do the impossible and fix it? (Continuation)(SI)
1. Day 01 New Arrival or Chaos Starts Again

Introduction: Well, here it is. My very first Ranma fanfic. I've read at least 90 percent of the manga (Not to mention a LOT of other fanfics) and a fair amount of the anime, so I feel I have a pretty good grasp on Ranma's character. Of course, I never said anything about the other characters, but I'll try my best to keep them in character within the plotline of the story. Speaking of which, The character Randy is a character from a story of my own creation (which is still in the making), so it's kind of a crossover/self-insert, but before you start flaming me about self inserts and the like, I'm also trying to make this as UNlike every other self-insert as possible, so read first, then judge for your self.  
  
Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I guess I have to have one of these in here, don't I? Ok, then, Ranma and all related characters, locations, situations, quotes, and props are not mine. The character Randy Donahue is, though, as are any other new characters I may or may not bring into the story later on. Feel free to use him in any stories you might write (As if anyone would bother), on the condition that you let me know about it so I can read your story.  
  
The story starts approximately a month after the end of the manga, which means that all events from the manga have occured. Anyway, on with the show.  
  
------------------Finishing Moves-------------------  
  
------Day 1: New Arrival or The Chaos Starts Again-  
A nice quiet day in Nerima. Those persons unfamiliar with Nerima probably would not think anything about those particular words. However, one that was familiar would know that a "quiet day in Nerima" was a chance to sit back, relax, and try to enjoy the break while it lasted. Of course, if this went on for too many days, people began to board up their windows and lock themselves inside, preparing for the impending explosion. And, with all the roof-hopping martial artists in the area, many also reinforced their roofs.  
  
While Ranma Saotome was one of those people trying to enjoy the peace while it lasted, he also felt like trying to build a titanium box and then locking himself inside it. Not that he thought it would help any, mind you. Being the center of all the chaos in Tokyo sucked.  
  
It had been a fairly normal day for Ranma so far. Then again, that wasn't saying much. The chaos could start again at any time. Ranma's eyes flitted to the horizon, scanned the rooftops, drifted down to the streets, scanned the corners, and finally settled on his fiance, Akane Tendo. Who was looking at him with a mildly irritated expression on her face.  
  
"What are you doing, Ranma?"  
  
"Nobody gonna get ya." he mumbled as his eyes drifted back up to the horizon. "Not while I'm around." Akane blushed as she realized who he was talking about, then realized she was supposed to be angry.  
  
"Ranma!!" she yelled.  
  
"Huh, what??" he looked around, startled, then realized Akane was steaming a little. "Uh, did I say that out loud?" he asked sheepishly.  
  
"Yes!" she replied loudly, "I can take care of myself just fine, you know."  
  
Once again, his mouth jumped ahead of his brain, "Oh, yeah? What about that incident with Saffron? Could you- " he cut himself off.  
  
"I'll have you know I was working my way out of that mess just fine. I- " she drifted off as her steamed expression slowly changed into somethimg else and hot tears stung her eyes. "I- I was just- I was just trying to help." She suddenly realized she was crying. She brought a hand up to wipe the tears away. "I'm go- " her voice caught, "I'm going home." With that she burst into a run, leaving Ranma to stand there on the fence with a pained expression on his face. Ah, man. There I go again. I have got to get better control of my mouth.  
  
"Now what?" he asked the sky plaintively. The setting sun had no answer for his question.  
  
Someone else did though. Ranma's sixth sense suddenly warned him of a hostile aura approaching and he looked down the street to see a boy his age clad in a yellow traveling shirt and black pants with cords tied around the lower legs. A yellow and black tiger-striped bandana was keeping his hair out of his face, a large hiking pack was strapped to his back and he was brandishing a red bamboo umbrella, "Ranma, you apologize to Akane this minute!"  
  
"Ah, good old Ryouga Hibiki. So, P-chan, what brings you back in town?" Ranma jumped down off of his perch on the fence to meet Ryouga's charge with a tired sigh, although inwardly he was relieved that the chaos had finally broken loose. Little did he know that this was not all that would break loose. "Did widdle piggy-wiggy get lost again?" he asked half-heartedly. The insult was familiar, but his heart wasn't in it.  
  
"Of course not!!" Ryouga angrily swiped at him with the umbrella, "I'll have you know I was shopping for Akari-chan and I- Hey!! Don't change the subject!" He stabbed at Ranma, who slipped under the umbrella. He switched the stab into a downward strike which resulted in Ranma snapping his foot up from his position on the ground, kicking the heavy weapon out of Ryouga's hand. Continuing his first strike, Ranma snapped his other foot up, hitting the bandanaed boy under the chin. The force of the strike lifted Ryouga several meters in the air, stunning him for a moment.  
  
Reorienting himself in mid-air, he looked down just in time to see Ranma launching himself from the ground with his hands, flipping upright in mid-air. Thinking quickly, he slipped his pack off and threw it at the pigtailed boy. "You cad! You made Akane-chan cry again, and now you're going to apologize to her!"  
  
Ranma was forced to flip again to avoid the large obstacle and in doing so he left an opening for Ryouga, who took advantage of it and, locking his hands, hit the unprepared boy with a downward smash. Ranma lost control of his leap and careened wildly toward the ground, landing hard on his stomach and cracking the pavement of the street.  
  
Struggling to regain his breath, Ranma looked up to see that Ryouga had landed a short distance away and was running toward him, an exended index finger an early warning of his next attack. Pushing himself to his feet, Ranma waited until the lost boy had commited to the move, then flipped low over the fanged boy's head, not passing up the oportunity to rap it around fifty times at Amaguri-ken speed.  
  
Stumbling forward, Ryouga followed through with the technique anyway, "Bakusai Tenketsu!" Index finger met pavement and with a small stab of ki, the ground erupted violently, sending debris hurtling everywhere and destroying a part of the canal fence. Unaffected by the proximity of the explosion, Ryouga brushed off the blast and turned around, searching for his rival, who had used him as a shield from the blast and was currently behind him. "Ranma! Where'd you go?! Stop hiding like a coward and- "  
  
" -Fight like a man." Ranma finished, rolling his eyes, "Do you rehearse them lines or somethin'? You're gettin' predictable. Pork-breath." he added as an afterthought. Ryouga tracked the sound of his voice and turned in the right direction, face flushed with anger (and embarrassment, though he would never admit it), "Now you make fun of me, too?! Die, Ranma!!" he reached up and pulled a bandana from his head, and, infusing it with a small amount of ki to stiffen it into a blade, began spinning it like a propeller.  
  
"S'been a while since ya used that trick." Ranma commented. Ignoring him, Ryouga flung the whirling object at Ranma, who caught it in the center with his index finger like a frisbee. Letting it spin around his finger a few times, he threw it back at Ryouga, "How 'bout a taste of your own medicine, Bacon-butt?"  
  
The projectile was snapped out of the air, drawing Ranma's attention to Ryouga's hand which held a whip-like cord, "I have a suprise for you, Ranma." he grinned evily.  
  
"Oh, goody. I love suprises. 'Specially nasty suprises." the pigtailed boy replied sarcastically. Inwardly he was slightly uneasy, Ok, that's a new one. But where did he get it? his gaze was suddenly drawn to Ryouga's pantleg, which was no longer wrapped with cord. Okay, so that's what that's for. I always wondered why he did that. He shifted into a defensive stance and motioned to Ryouga, "Well, bring it on."  
  
Ryouga raised his whip arm, "Gladly!" He took a step backward to stablize himself- and fell through the open section of the canal fence into the canal.  
  
Ranma smacked his face with a palm in exasperation, "Why am I NOT suprised?" He walked over to the gap in the fence and watched Ryouga float off down the canal, a cute little black piglet riding on his makeshift raft, an airtight hiking pack.  
  
"Well, that was rather anti-climatic." remarked an unknown voice. Startled, Ranma whipped his head toward its origin, and saw a young man about his age casually drop to the ground several yards away from him, a long black sash trailing behind him and hands in his pockets. Where did HE come from??! Why didn't I sense him?? "Who're you??!" he asked, slipping into a defensive stance.  
  
The stranger chuckled and smirked, revealing prominent canines, "Heh. Name's Randy Donahue." He sketched a sloppy bow, making a sweeping gesture with one hand and folding the other behind his back, "At your service."  
  
Ranma relaxed a little, straightening from his stance, At least he don't seem to be a threat Then, as Randy's hair fell forward, Ranma suddenly noticed two long, pointed- Pointed ears?!! What IS this guy?  
  
The still smirking boy straightened, his gaze sweeping the surrounding area. Apparently finding what he was looking for, he pointed, "Meet me in that vacant lot over there, this time tomorrow."  
  
Ignoring Ranma's stare- I mean suspicious look, the auburn haired boy casually walked up to the fence and watched Ryouga in pig form continue floating down the canal, returning one hand to his pocket and shading his eyes with the other, "You get a lot of transformers around here?" he questioned Ranma.  
  
"Huh??" he said intelligently, and stopped st- glaring, only to resume when he noticed Randy's eyes shining purple in the sun.  
  
Noticing the pigtailed boy's state of mind, Randy waved it off, "Never mind. I'll find out eventually. See ya." With that he leapt across the canal, turned to wave jauntily over his shoulder, then leapt from there to a rooftop, bouncing from one to the other until he faded from sight. But the chaos had just begun...  
  
With the distraction out of sight, Ranma's mind focused on more important things, like, Who the heck wears PURPLE??  
  
Shaking himself out of his reverie, he looked around as he remembered somthing strange about Randy's entrance, Where did he come from? He dropped straight down beside me, but there's nothing to drop from!! Maybe I'll find out tomorrow when I meet him. Putting the incident out of his mind for the moment, he made his way home to the Tendo Dojo.  
  
Upon entering the gate to the yard, Ranma's danger sense warned him of another hostile aura in the area. Expanding his senses, he sighed as he recognized his father's angry aura. Boy, you've done something to make Akane-kun cry again! Apologize immediately! he mouthed to himself, then stepped to the side as Genma aimed a jump-kick at him from the top of the gate, "Boy, you've done something to make Akane-kun cry again! Apologize immediately!"  
  
"Gee, I'd love to, Pops, but she's gonna clobber me as soon as I step inside her door." He said dryly, "Giv'er some time ta cool off first." He side-stepped the fat man's half-hearted charge and stuck out a foot, watching disgustedly as Genma tripped and fell into the koi pond, re-emerging black and white, hairy, sopping wet and even fatter. Hey! go easy on your old man! read the sign that Panda produced from nowhere.  
  
The pig-tailed boy glanced at the sign and snorted derisively, "Yeah right. If I went any easier on ya, I'd hav'ta be a sloth. On the other hand, a sloth can move faster than you. What'sa matter, old man, Arthiritis actin' up?"  
  
Panda flipped the sign around to read, Oh, the shame! The humanity! My only son has no respect for his father! ,all the while making sobbing noises, which sounded ridiculous coming from a panda.  
  
Ranma just rolled his eyes, "Jeeze, you're pathetic, Pops. I'm goin' to the dojo. Got a fight tomorrow."  
  
Making his way to the dojo, he slipped off his shoes and began a kata, one that he had learned years ago. His mind slowly slipped into a meditative state as he finished that kata and began another slightly harder one, blending them together seamlessly. Flowing from one to the other, he began to switch katas in the middle, still seamlessly blending them together, despite the difference in style. Working himself up the difficulty scale, he drove himself faster and harder, a rich golden aura blooming into existence around his body as he brought his ki into play. Moving fast enough to blur, and striking hard enough to break stone, he continued performimg his katas flawlessly, switching styles again and again, until they too began to blur together, creating a crashing wave of chaos that surged on relentlessly.  
  
His sixth sense alerted him to a presense approaching the dojo, but he continued practicing, slowing only slightly as the eldest Tendo daughter, Kasumi, entered the dojo, "Supper is almost ready, Ranma. You still have time for a quick bath, though."  
  
A muffled, " 'Kay." was all the acknowledgement she got from the human tornado in the middle of the dojo, but she seemed content with that, and left the building, the breeze generated by the blur of motion that was Ranma ruffling her clothes.  
  
Pushing himself even harder, he waited until Kasumi was out of range, then streaked for the entrance. Golden energy coalesced around his clenched fists as he bounced high into the air outside the dojo, then threw a large sphere of ki into the night sky, "Mouko Takabisha!" then immediatly threw the other one, "Times Two!" Touching down on the porch of the house, he smirked, THIS is the Saotome School of Anything-goes Martial Arts! he remembered the strange boy whom he had met today, I'd like to see ya try an' beat that!  
  
After finishing his bath, Ranma moved to the main room of the Tendo house, where the rest of the family had already gathered at the table. Taking his usual spot beside Akane, he winced as he noticed that she sniffed and scooted away from him several inches, Aw, man. She's still mad. I gotta do something, but what? He wracked his brain, trying to come up with a solution, even as he dug into his meal with less than normal enthusiasm.  
  
Remaining contemplative throughout his meal, he didn't notice that all the others around the table had also subtly scooted away from him, alarmed at at his silence. The pigtailed boy continued eating, oblivious, as the others slowly stopped eating and watched him nervously. The tension was almost to a breaking point, when he suddenly slammed down his bowl and smacked his palm with a fist, "Aha!"  
  
A clatter of bowls arond the table drew Ranma's attention to the rest of the family, who had dropped their dishes and had hands clutched to their chests, trying to calm their rapidly beating hearts and frazzled nerves. He looked on in puzzlement, "What's wrong with you guys?" When nobody answered, he shrugged, "I'm gonna be gone for a bit tonight." He glared at Genma and Soun from across the table, "And if anybody wants ta end up like Saffron, feel free to follow me."  
  
The fathers flinched and nodded hurriedly, which seemed to appease Ranma and he began finishing his meal with his usual gusto, at which the rest of the family sighed collectively and resumed eating.  
  
Later that night, Akane settled into her bed, disturbing images haunting her thoughts. I wonder where Ranma went? Probably to Ukyo's or maybe Shampoo's. That jerk! He didn't even apologize for that comment on the fence!... She sighed to herself, Yeah right, who are you kidding. He's never apologized before, don't expect him to start now. Still, I just wish that for once- She broke off as her window cracked itself open and the curtains obscured her vision as a cold draft blew into the room, making her draw the blankets up reflexively. Just as suddenly as it had cracked open, the window closed itself, and she quickly jumped out of bed to see what had happened. As she leaned over her desk to look out the window, her fingers brushed something sharp and she looked down to see a single rose with a piece of paper attached. She turned on her desk lamp and tears came to her eyes as she read the single word written on the paper.  
  
"Oh, Ranma..." she said softly, then turned and snuggled back underneath the covers, the rose clutched to her chest. Looking over at her desk where the paper lay, she remembered that lone word.  
  
Sorry.  
  
------End Day 1------  
  
Well, there it is. What do you think? Please R&R. Constructive criticism would be helpful, flames will be deleted. (Thanks to Zero() for letting me know about the formatting problem.)  
  
--- Current list of Finishing Moves ---  
  
Ranma: Katsu Tenshin Amaguri-ken - Ki is channeled to Ranma's arms and upper body to greatly increase his punching speed.  
  
Ryouga: Bakusai Tenketsu - Ki is channeled into the tip of Ryouga's index finger, then jammed into the breaking point of a solid object to cause an explosion.  
  
Hello??  
  
Anyone out there??  
  
Anybody??  
  
sigh 


	2. Day 02, Part A: Troubled days, or Chaos ...

Intro: Well, here it is, the first Part of the 2nd Day. This one's a little on the short side, but that's because I took a Freakishly Long Summary out of the whole thing, and generally revised what I'd written before. So the story should flow a little better now. There's still a hiccup where I took the Summary out, but I left it that way on purpose. REreaders will notice a small difference from the previous version.  
  
Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I guess I have to have one of these in here, don't I? Ok, then, Ranma and all related characters, locations, situations, quotes, and props are not mine. The character Randy Donahue is, though, as are any other new characters I may or may not bring into the story later on. Feel free to use him in any stories you might write (As if anyone would bother), on the condition that you let me know about it so I can read your story. Cut and Paste is fun. (Check the first chapter's disclaimer.)  
  
Warnings: Manga language (i.e. infrequent swearing)  
  
------------ Finishing Moves ------------  
  
------ Day 02, Part A: Troubled Days, or Chaos Changes ------  
  
It was turning out to be another quiet morning in Nerima. This was mostly because everyone had already locked themselves inside for the day. That, and the morning hadn't really started yet. Ranma Saotome would have agreed with the previous statement whole-heartedly if he had been awake. As it was, he was quietly sleeping the morning away, like usual. And, like usual, Akane Tendo had been trying to no avail to wake him up for the past fifteen minutes. She would have woken him up the easy way, with a bucket of cold water, but her eldest sister Kasumi had made a passing comment a couple days ago about mopping up the guest room day after day. Coming from anyone else, that passing comment would have been a good chew-out, therefore, Akane had tried to appease her older sister's wrath by finding a different way of waking the sleeping boy up. Which was proving to be very difficult indeed.  
  
"Wake UP, Ranma!!!" She yelled for the fifth time in as many minutes, "We're GOING to be late for SCHOOL!!" She grabbed the pig-tailed boy's shoulders and shook him violently, severely tempted to move her grip several inches higher and throttle him. Ranma's only response was to snore a little and mumble something that sounded vaguely like, " 'm up, 'm up. N' be quiet an' lemme g' back t' sleep."  
  
"AAAAARRRGGH!!!" the short haired girl screamed, stomping her foot. She took a few deep, calming breaths, which didn't really do any good, and sighed, "Every morning! Every single morning!! That's it! I am NOT going to scream myself blue in the face JUST to wake this jerk up!" Apparently forgetting that she had already done so, she turned to leave the room, "Fine. Let the idiot be late, for all I care!"  
  
She paused as a thought struck her, then turned back toward Ranma with an evil grin on her face, "Why didn't I think of that before??" Stalking up to the peacefully sleeping martial artist, she snatched his protruding pig-tail and began dragging him through the hallway. Upon reaching the stairs, she stopped and flipped the still snoring boy around, then began hauling him down the steps one at a time, making sure that his head hit each and every step.  
  
Akane towed her erstwhile fiance past the rest of the family, who had gathered around the table and were giving her sleepy glares, and tossed him into the koi pond from the porch. Which had the predicted effect of making a big splash and producing a yell of, "What'd ya do THAT for??!" from Ranma. After he'd resurfaced soaking wet, ticked, and female.  
  
The middle Tendo sister, Nabiki, sleepily lifted her head from her arms, which were crossed on the table, "You know, Akane, you could wait until a LITTLE bit later in the morning to start this. Especially on a Saturday." Akane froze.  
  
Behind her, Ranma had taken her shirt off and was currently wringing it out, "Jeeze, Akane. It's bad 'nough on school days. Do ya gotta ruin my days off, too??" She put her semi-dry shirt back on over her tank top and tugged on the damp material a few times, "Che, forget it. I'm gonna go take a bath." She headed for her room to gather her bath things, "Again."  
  
Having snagged her things, Ranma moved into the outer bathroom and removed her clothes, checked for the occupied sign, and stepped into the inner bathroom, which was a little steamy from the heated furo inside. After dousing herself with cold water and scrubbing the pond water out of her hair, the red-headed girl slid into the hot water and became a black-haired boy. "Ah, it's good ta be back ta bein' a guy again." He stretched languidly and let the hot water relax his muscles.  
  
Over the years that he'd been living at the Tendo home, Ranma had slowly become used to his cursed form, even getting to the point where he didn't even notice the transformation anymore. Somewhere along the line it had stopped being a curse and become something less, more of an annoyance than anything else. Although it was still a royal pain in the ass when he got splashed in the middle of a fight, even that wasn't much a of a problem anymore. The whole center of gravity thing had never been a problem, even from day one. It seems the same magic that changed his masculine form to a feminine one changed his point of view to that as if he had been born a woman, which was a little disconcerting in itself. Okay, it scared him stiff. It hadn't been the change of shape that had scared him so much, it was the fact that he had felt so natural in it. He had been fearful of losing sight of his masculinity. After so long, he still hadn't changed in the way that he truly feared and had eventually become more or less indifferent to the physical change. It was still a pain in the ass, though.  
  
A shuffling sound alerted him to the presense of someone in the outer bathroom and his eyes snapped open as Akane opened the door between the two areas. Then they popped ALL the way open when he noticed exactly what she was wearing. A towel, and... nothing else. He stayed frozen as she sauntered across the space between the door and the furo and primly seated herself on the stool. Finally managing to tear his gaze away from all of the exposed skin, he looked at her face and saw that she was blushing furiously and avoiding his gaze.  
  
"......"  
  
"......"  
  
" ...Backrub?" Akane finally asked tentatively, still blushing furiously. Having reverted to staring at all of that exposed skin, Ranma wasn't in any condition to do more than make a slight nodding motion. After nodding he continued gazing apreciatively at her towel-clad body and Akane continued blushing at his scrutiny.  
  
"......"  
  
"......"  
  
Eventually Akane made the first move, "Baka. Turn around."  
  
Eager to reply, Ranma's mouth leaped ahead of his catatonic brain and said the first thing that came to mind, "Why?"  
  
That seemed to snap the tension that had been running between them and Akane blushed even further (if that was possible) as she bopped him lightly on the head, "Baka. Just do it." The sound of lapping water penetrated the silence as Ranma shifted in the furo to give Akane access to his back from the stool. Leaning forward, the short-haired girl began to massage his back, kneading his shoulders firmly.  
  
With the distraction out of sight for the time being, Ranma's brain raced as it tried to come up with a logical reason why Akane would be acting this way. Once again eager to be of service, his mouth leaped ahead of his brain, "So, uh, what brought this on?"  
  
He winced as Akane's fingers dug into his shoulders a little harder than was comfortable, but eventually she formulated a reply, "Well... I... woke you up early this morning... and... well... that rose last night was so sweet... and, well..." she trailed off.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Deciding that it was on a roll, Ranma's mouth took advantage of the fact that his brain was busy, and waved off her badly worded apology, " 'S okay. I'm used to it." His brain finally noticed what his mouth was up to and beaned it over the head with a mallet.  
  
Akane said nothing, but continued to claw his shoulders painfully and with extra force.  
  
"Arrrgh. Uh, what I meant to say, uh, that is, um, well, I, eh, Than-" He stopped short as his nervously darting eyes spotted the door to the inner bathroom slide shut, followed by the sound of running feet and an excited shout of, "Quick, Genma! Call the priest! We'll have the wedding as soon as they come out!"  
  
"Dammit!!" Ranma was out of the furo and through the door like a shot, leaving Akane behind with her hands still in position to massage his back, blinking in perplexity until it sank in exactly what was going on.  
  
As she rushed through the door and pulled on a blouse, she heard voices down the hall, "Dammit, Pops!! Gimme that phone!!"  
  
"No way, Boy, this is for your own good."  
  
"I said hand it over!!"  
  
"Oh, happy day!! The schools will finally be joined!!"  
  
"Ara? What seems to beee...... Araaaa...."  
  
"What's going o- ... Nice show, Saotome, but aren't you a little cold?"  
  
"What are you talking about, Nabi- Eep!!"  
  
Exiting the bathroom, Akane threw a mortified Ranma his pants and malleted Genma, who had just finished dialing. She then hung up the phone which was now dangling off of the hook, and turned on her father with a level of anger normally reserved for Ranma, "Daaaad!! How could you?! It's only been two days since the last time you tried this crap! TWO. DAYS.!!"  
  
Having pulled his pants on, Ranma added his two ce- yen, "Now listen here, Tendo-san. Ain't nothin' gonna keep me from marryin' that tomboy, but- " All heads turned to stare at him. "......Uh...... That... didn't come out right." Silence.  
  
It took the combined efforts of both Ranma and Akane to keep a happily sobbing Soun away from the telephone at this point.  
  
After the hubbub had died down, which took almost an hour, Ranma finally got the chance to finish his bath and eat breakfast. Having not said a word to anyone since that time, the pigtailed boy silently finished his breakfast and, without a word, left the premises, scowling angrily.  
  
Akane looked after him as he left, anger mixing with worry in an internal conflict. Ranma you baka. Why won't you tell me what's the matter? You've been edgy and tense ever since our fight with Saffron.  
  
Ranma sat beneath his favorite bridge, gazing out over the peacefully gurgling waters of the river. At the moment, he needed to think. And under this bridge was one of his OTHER places to do so. He sighed as he remembered what had happened on that trip to China, and the subequent Battle with Saffron, the ruler of the Pheonix People. And then after THAT, there was the attempted wedding...  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
See the Side-story: 'Summary of the Saffron Arc' for the details. Readers who have read this before should be pleased to note that the 'Freakishly Long Summary' has been moved into a side-story of sorts, (Although it really isn't side-story to anything in particular.) and that the two chapters have been combined into one.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
Ranma still remembered how beautiful Akane had looked in her wedding dress. A shiver ran down his spine just -thinking- about it. His mind tended to veer away from his fight with Saffron, however. After telling the story once to everyone who hadn't gone on the trip with them, he had clammed up and refused to talk about it to anyone. This was mostly because of guilt, but partly because he wondered at his power. During that fight he had not only killed, but he had killed an immortal Pheonix. Granted, Saffron had been reborn, just like he said he would, but the fact remained. He had killed. He was powerful enough to kill a Pheonix. What did that make HIM?? His mind veered away from the subject once more.  
  
Akane. They had gotten along even better ever since the failed wedding. They were probably even at the beginning of the boyfriend-girlfriend stage, although Ranma wasn't entirely sure on that. The other fiances were still chasing him. Apparently they took the fact that they had actually succeded at stopping the wedding as a sign to continue chasing him. Unfortunately for them, Ranma had already made up his mind, but he just couldn't bring himself to break their hearts just yet.  
  
His musings were interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind him.  
  
"GYAH!!!" Startled, he jumped high into the air, forgetting that he was underneath a bridge. CLONG! ... thump " 'Te 'te 'te" He rubbed his throbbing head as he got up from the ground.  
  
Akane rushed over to him, "Ohmygod! Ranma, are you okay?! I didn't mean to startle you like that!"  
  
Half grimacing, half grinning, he replied, " 's okay. I'm used to it."  
  
Her demeanor instantly changed. "Used to WHAT??" she asked frostily.  
  
Panic! was his first thought, then he noticed that short-haired girl had yet to make a move to mallet him. She just stood there, icily waiting for an explanation. A small part of his mind continued to gibber in fear, but he squashed it into a corner and concentrated on finding the right words to say, "Uh... That is to say, well... I'm used to the constant damage I get in the fights that happen every month..."  
  
Akane's frosty demeanor began to melt rapidly in the heat of her anger and Ranma scrambled to continue before she decided to give him a free trip back to the dojo, "Uh, it's not just you, Akane. Everyone else manages to find ways to hurt me, too. I don't think they do it on -purpose-, so I can't hold it against them, but I get so TIRED of it all sometimes!" His voice grew louder as his anger with the situation seeped through.  
  
Her face softened in response, "Oh, Ranma. I get tired of it too, sometimes." She paused, then snapped her fingers, "Oh, yeah. Before I forget again..." She started to blush, "Um... Did you really mean what you said back at the house?"  
  
------ Flashback ------  
  
Having pulled his pants on, Ranma added his two ce- yen, "Now listen here, Tendo-san. Ain't nothin' gonna keep me from marryin' that tomboy, but- " All heads turned to stare at him. "......Uh...... That... didn't come out right." Silence.  
  
------ End Flashback ------  
  
He returned the blush and began stammering, "I- uh... well, I... um..." He finally trailed off, unable to get the words out.  
  
Akane waited for a reply, still blushing. After waiting for over five minutes her patience began to rapidly deteriate. Just whe she was about to make a sniping remark, a small noise stopped her.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
She stopped, unsure of what she had just heard, "What did you say??"  
  
He fidgeted, blushing furiously, "I said 'yeah'."  
  
Her eyes swam with unshed tears and she smiled happily, "Oh, Ranma!" In a fit of happiness, she threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. He froze, as he always did on those rare occasions when she hugged him. Then he slowly raised his arms and hugged her back.  
  
"Ranma Saotome, keep your dirty hands off of MY Shampoo!!" Ranma jerked them both out of the way of Mousse's chains and leapt out from under the bridge, Akane cradled in his arms, "Hey! Watch where you're aimin' those things! You almost hit Akane!"  
  
"Today is my day for vengeance, Saotome! You shall not escape!"  
  
"Oh, great! It's Kuno! How'd HE get here?"  
  
"Where on earth am I NOW?!?!"  
  
"Oh, look! It's Ryouga! Hello, Ryouga-kun!"  
  
"Aiyah! Shampoo save Airen from Violent Tomboy!"  
  
"Ran-chan! Have one of my Super Special Deluxe Okonomiyaki!"  
  
"Oooooooh-hohohohohohohohohohohohohoho!"  
  
"Where'd THEY come from?!?!" Akane asked, wide-eyed.  
  
"I have NO idea." Internally, Ranma stewed. It was just beginning ALL over again, and he was just plain SICK and TIRED of it! He watched as the squabbling crowd grew closer, indescision wracking his face. Finally, he settled on angry determination, "GRAAAH!!!" Clutching Akane tighter, he leapt onto the bridge and headed for the rooftops. The crowd followed.  
  
Ten minutes into the chase, Ranma finally spotted the perfect spot to make a stand. A large vacant lot near the canal. Leaping from the rooftops, he touched down in the center of the lot, determined to end this once and for all. The small crowd jumped down around him, and he set Akane down, preparing for the fight. He didn't get the chance.  
  
"You're early." The sound drew everyone's attention to a purple-clad youth laying against some concrete pipes, a black baseball cap covering his face. He flipped the front of his cap up and looked around, taking in the crowd and their fighting stances. He then stood and brushed off his pants, "Hey, back off. Let's not wear him down before I get a chance to fight him."  
  
------ End Part A ------  
  
Author's Notes: Okay, now all the REreaders know what that 'small difference' was. It makes for a short chapter, but it should be a little more enjoyable. And rest assured, I AM working on the Third (used to be forth) Chapter of Finishing Moves. Albeit VERY slowly...  
  
Thanks for the reviews, people! More reviews mean faster updates, (hint, hint) but I WILL take my time and try to produce quality work (At least I HOPE it's quality). Which reminds me, if you review this, tell me whether you read the last two manga or not. It isn't really a poll, but I'm curious as to how many people have actually read the manga and how many have only read fanfiction.  
  
Please Read 'n Review! Constructive criticism will be helpful, Flames will be forwarded to Osama bin Laden. For those of you with questions, my e-mail is  
  
--- Current list of Finishing Moves ---  
  
Ranma: Katsu Tenshin Amaguri-ken - Ki is channeled to Ranma's arms and upper body to greatly increase his punching speed.  
  
Ryouga: Bakusai Tenketsu - Ki is channeled into the tip of Ryouga's index finger, then jammed into the breaking point of a solid object to cause an explosion.  
  
Hello?  
  
Anyone out there??  
  
Anybody??  
  
sigh 


	3. Day 02, Part B: Finishing Moves, or Chao...

Intro: And here it is!!! Chapter Three of the Finishing Moves story! Amazing, I actually updated TWICE! In less than a WEEK!! Astounding!!! Anyways, I know it was a long wait, but I hope this chapter is worth it.  
  
Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I guess I have to have one of these in here, don't I? Ok, then, Ranma and all related characters, locations, situations, quotes, and props are not mine. The character Randy Donahue is, though, as are any other new characters I may or may not bring into the story later on. Feel free to use him in any stories you might write (As if anyone would bother), on the condition that you let me know about it so I can read your story. Cut and Paste is fun. (Check the first chapter's disclaimer.)  
  
I know you've waited a long time for this, so without further ado, I give you...  
  
------------ Finishing Moves ------------  
  
------ Day 02, Part B: Finishing Moves, or Chaotic Choices ------  
  
"Where'd THEY come from?!?!"  
  
"I have NO idea." Inside, Ranma stewed. It was just beginning ALL over again, and he was just plain SICK and TIRED of it. He watched as the squabbling crowd grew closer, indescision wracking his face. Finally, he settled on angry determination, "GRAAAH!!!" Clutching Akane tighter, he leapt onto the bridge and headed for the rooftops. The crowd followed.  
  
Ten minutes into the chase, Ranma finally spotted the perfect spot to make a stand. A large vacant lot near the canal. Leaping from the rooftops, he touched down in the center of the lot, determined to end this once and for all. The small crowd jumped down around him, and he set Akane down, preparing for the fight. He didn't get the chance.  
  
"You're early." The sound drew everyone's attention to a purple-clad youth laying against some concrete pipes, a black baseball cap covering his face. He flipped the front of his cap up and looked around, taking in the crowd and their fighting stances. He then stood and brushed off his pants, "Hey, back off. Let's not wear him down before I get a chance to fight him."  
  
Ranma quickly glanced around them, recognizing the vacant lot where he was supposed to fight today, "You're-!!"  
  
The purple-clad boy nodded and took off his cap, "Randy Donahue, at your service." He took another sloppy bow, sweeping his cap in front of him while folding his other arm behind his back.  
  
Shampoo stepped forward, "Who you?? What you want with Airen?"  
  
"Husband? You mean this guy?" the auburn-haired boy gestured at Ranma, "I don't know about -you-, but it looks to me like he's already GOT a girlfriend." All eyes were drawn to the pig-tailed boy, who had his arm around Akane's shoulder protectively.  
  
"EEP!!" Upon noticing where his arm was resting, Ranma withdrew it almost fast enough to leave friction burns. Then he winced as he noticed Akane flinch in disappointment, and the side of him that had forced itself to the surface after the fight with Saffron kicked the rest of him into action and he returned his arm to it's rightful place.  
  
Of course, this action elicited fiery glares from the rest of the girls directed at Akane. (And a glare from Kuno at Ranma.) She unconsciously leaned into Ranma for support and glared back.  
  
Randy looked back and forth between them a few times, "Woah, lookit the sparks fly! That must be some harem you got there!"  
  
"What?!?! I do NOT have a harem!!!"  
  
"Yeah, Ran-chan's MY fiance!"  
  
"Aiyah! Ranma Shampoo's Airen!!"  
  
"Ah, but Ranma-sama is too good for you low-born servant-girls!"  
  
"Saotome, have you no end to your womanizing ways?!"  
  
"Shampoo is MINE and you know it!!"  
  
The purple-clad boy's eyebrows rose, "Really? That's what four women attached to one man looks like to me. On the other hand, it looks like the only one you have any interest in at all is -her-." He gestured to Akane, who blushed prettily, but didn't protest. "You must lead an interesting life."  
  
Ranma scowled, "Interesting is NOT the word."  
  
Randy chuckled and stowed his cap away, "I'll bet. Anyway, you ready?"  
  
The pig-tailed boy stepped away from Akane and nodded, "Yep."  
  
Randy nodded in return, "Okay then. I challenge you to a fight. Winner by surrender or knock-out. No other terms."  
  
Ranma slipped into a stance modified from kenpo to fit his style, "Let's go!" The auburn-haired boy crouched down into a stance of his own, a modified cat stance, and motioned for Ranma to make the first move.  
  
Ranma obliged, leaping forward and preparing an Amaguri-ken. He had decided to stop holding back after his fight with Saffron, as Ryouga, Mousse, and Kuno could attest to. This new kid didn't know what he was getting himself into. "Katsu Tenshin Amaguri-ken!!!" Hundreds of punches pounded out a staccato rythm against hundreds of palms as Randy shifted into a defensive position and swatted every single strike out of the air. Without calling out a special attack.  
  
Oh, SHIT! Ranma leapt back as soon as he finished his attack, but Randy followed him into the air. This proved to be his undoing as Ranma slammed a kick straight through the auburn-haired boy's defenses during the mid-air battle. Ranma flipped safely to the ground, while Randy twisted in mid-air and landed on all fours before dropping to his knees and clutching his stomach where Ranma had kicked him.  
  
Ranma smirked confidently while Randy sat there for a moment, regaining his lost breath. Heh! He may be faster than I am, but he can't take a hit worth beans. I'd better wait for his next attack and see what his strength is like before I kick his ass.  
  
Recovering, Randy leapt forward, skimming just above the ground toward Ranma, who waited until the last moment to react to the auburn-haired boy's powerslide by hopping over it. His plans were derailed as Randy snagged his ankle on the way under him, which resulted in both of their momentums' being stopped dead. This effect was more detrimental for Ranma than it was for Randy simply because Randy was not in mid-air before he was stopped. Ranma slammed into the ground ungracefully, while Randy rubbed his nearly dislocated shoulder. Both of them lay there for only a second before flipping to their feet again.  
  
Randy waited for Ranma to move first this time, so Ranma obliged once more and leapt into the air, inviting his opponent to meet him. The purple-clad boy declined his offer and stayed firmly on the ground. Instead, he moved to Ranma's landing spot and waiting for him to come down. Several blows were exchanged with Ranma still in the air and Randy still on the ground. Neither one of them made a decisive hit.  
  
Ranma landed again and they stared at each other for a moment, face to face. Ranma's face reflected excitement, frustration, and confidence, while Randy's face was calm and collected, his eyes the only sign of his underlying excitement. Even his slight smirk was still present. If anything it had -grown- during the fight.  
  
Ranma's eyes narrowed, He's too calm for me to use the Hiryu Shoten Ha, so that's out. He's too fast for the Amaguri-ken, so -that's- out... What do I have left aside from the Mouko Takabisha? And why's he smirking like that? Must have somethin' up his sleeve yet. Well, so do I!  
  
Randy spoke, backing away at the same time, "We both know we're holding back. So why don't we take this fight to the next level?"  
  
Several of the on-lookers gasped in surprise, but Ranma nodded grimly, "Let's go!"  
  
He leapt into the air again, and this time Randy followed him up. This was not a problem. The problem was the fact that he STAYED in the air afterwards! Ranma gaped with the rest of the crew this time and nearly messed up his landing.  
  
Randy's smirk grew full-force now, "Ah, you want to know how I do this??" The entire group nodded as one. "Tough!!" He pulled down an eyelid and stuck his tongue out for emphasis.  
  
Ranma recovered himself and jumped into the air again. This time Randy met him halfway, running downward through the air. This time Ranma was at a disadvantage, since his skill in mid-air was canceled out by Randy's speed and now his footholds in the air. It now seemed as if Ranma was fighting in the air and Randy was still on the ground, evening the playing field.  
  
When Ranma hit the ground again, he was panting heavily. He had never used the Amaguri-ken for such a long period of time before, and it was wearing him out. Especially since it was taking a Full-body Amaguri-ken to let him keep up with the lightning-fast boy. I've got to end this quick!! Or I might.... Anyway, I've GOT to end it now!!  
  
Istead of heading for Randy with his next jump, Ranma leapt straight up, his aura flaring to life. As soon as he reached an even level with Randy he unleashed it in the form of a fiery golden sphere of energy, "Mouko Takabisha!!!"  
  
"Ack!!!"The purple-clad boy's eyes widened and he dropped out of the path of the Ki blast. He stopped and crouched just before he hit the ground, staring up at the spot where he had just dropped from with wide eyes, "Da-amn!! A Spirit Blast already??! Lucky I lost my concentration..." He stood to his full height and looked down at Ranma, "Looks like you wanna take it up another level, eh? Fine by me!"  
  
His constant smirk reappeared on his face as he held up a single finger. Electricity crackled all over his body for an instant before gathering at his fingertip, which he then pointed at Ranma, "Lightning Spear!!!" It was Ranma's turn to drop to the ground, eyes wide, as a bolt of lightning stabbed through the space he had just been a moment ago.  
  
"What the- How did you do that??!" He demanded as he stood.  
  
Randy shrugged, still standing in mid-air, "No biggie. Your Element's Spirit, mine's Lightning. 'S all there is to it."  
  
Ranma stared, bewildered, "Element?..." Never mind, I've got to pay attention to the fight. Indeed, Randy wasn't giving his time to think about it as he closed in again. Randy was on the offensive this time, and since they were both on the ground, Ranma found himself hard-pressed to keep up. He was wearing down fast, and on even ground Randy was simply faster than him.  
  
That's when he realized; Randy was emitting a full-fledged Battle Aura!! What's got HIM so riled up?? He spared a moment to glance at the purple-clad boy's face, and his eyes widened in surprise. Randy's smirk was spread wide across his face, and his eyes sparkled with joyful excitement, even in the middle of his intense assault. Just for a split second, their eyes met, and Ranma saw something. Something he'd lost not too long after he'd come to Nerima. Maybe not lost; more like hidden, or drowned out. Something clicked. And Ranma grinned back.  
  
"Haaaaaaaaa!!!" Ranma's own Battle Aura sprang back to life, and suddenly the tables were turned. It was now Randy who was on the defensive, his body desperately trying to block or avoid the incoming maelstrom. And yet, his smirk never left his face.  
  
In a split second, Randy had taken advantage of an opening in Ranma's defenses and landed an open-palm strike on Ranma's chest. By the time Ranma had managed to stop his reverse momentum and recover from the blow, Randy had thrown his fists back and slammed them together in front of his body. Sparks of electricity flew from the point of impact, and Ranma's blood ran cold as he heard the words, "Lightning Speed!!!"  
  
Despite utilizing a Full-Body Amaguri-ken, Ranma found that he could barely even SEE the attacks coming his way, let alone react to them. He quickly began giving way to the unrelenting blur of motion that was Randy. The hits that actually landed still weren't very strong, but they were quickly adding up, and Ranma knew that he couldn't take much more. That's when he remembered that Randy's Battle Aura was still going full blast.  
  
Randy continued to press the pig-tailed boy backwards, his smirk never leaving his face. It even grew wider as he sensed that victory was near. It grew into a full fledged grin as Ranma suddenly dropped all attempts at defenses. Then it was wiped from his face completely as Ranma's wild uppercut landed at the same time as his blow to Ranma's solar plexus and the words, "Hiryu Shouten Ha!!!" pierced the air.  
  
A half-hearted, "Huh?" was all he managed before the winds of the ki-generated whirlwind swept him off of his feet. Ranma watched tiredly as the purple-clad boy flailed desperately inside the tornado. His struggles were in vain as it carried him upward, gaining speed with each revolution of the spiral. Finally he vanished from sight as the whirlwind sent to high to be seen through the dust and dirt that had been kicked up by the violent winds. After a tense moment, the whirlwind dissipated. Another moment passed before a small speck could be seen through the settling dust, still flailing wildy. Ranma watched almost giddily as Randy dropped from the sky like a stone.  
  
And landed on his feet.  
  
Ranma's eyes widened in horror as he realized that Randy seemed to be perfectly fine, while he had just used up the last of his energy with the Hiryu Shouten Ha. Speaking of energy... His eyes rolled back and he finally fell over in a dead faint as his exhaustion finally caught up with him.  
  
Meanwhile, Randy just crouched where he had landed, staring intently at the ground. His feet were nearly buried up to their ankles in the soil of the vacant lot. The group who had watched the fight now watched him intently. The seconds ticked by. Seconds turned to minutes. Finally Akane stepped foward and the purple-clad boy turned his attention to her.  
  
She put a hand forward hesitantly, "Um..."  
  
Randy looked at her, a neutral expression on his face, "The ground..."  
  
She looked taken aback at his response, "Huh? What about it?"  
  
He turned back to staring at the ground, "It's hard."  
  
A group face-fault ensued.  
  
Unable to hold the crouch any longer, Randy finally collapsed to the ground and closed his eyes, "I think... I'll just take a nap now." His feet were still embedded in the ground.  
  
------ Some Time Later ------  
  
"Ugh... What hit me?" Ranma groaned as he sat up. He glanced around, taking a moment to recognize Doctor Tufu's clinic. He was currently laying on an emergency cot.  
  
"Ah, you're finally up." Ranma looked to his left, where the newcomer lay on another cot smirking at him cheerfully. "That was a good fight. Let's do it again sometime."  
  
Ranma was taken aback, "Wha- Y-you mean you're... offering a rematch?" He just couldn't understand it. None of his previous opponents had ever offered him a rematch on their own before. He'd always had to challenge them for it. "B-but you won!"  
  
Randy waved a hand weakly, "Nah. If I'd 've won I'd wouldn't be here beside you, now would I?"  
  
"......" Ranma was speechless. This was unprecedented!!! ALL- And I mean ALL of his previous opponents had claimed victory over the smallest thing, and here was a guy who had turned down an obvious win!! "But w-why? I mean you were fine when I p-passed out!" He stuttered over the words, but it much easier to admit defeat when the victor wasn't gloating about it.  
  
Randy shook his head from where he lay, still smirking, "I passed out right after you did. So basically it was a tie. I mean, I'd have to be able to walk away from the fight to win."  
  
"......" Ranma was speechless once more. He suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that it would become commonplace in the next little while.  
  
The purple-clad boy started to say something, but he was interrupted by voices outside the room, "Hello, Doctor Tofu! Is Ranma awake yet??"  
  
Tofu's pleasant voice drifted back to their room, "Why yes. He is, Akane. I believe he woke up a few minutes ago. He and the other boy spent some time talking, but they seem to have finished now. Why don't you go on back and-" He trailed off as Akane quickly brushed past him into the back room.  
  
Akane burst into the room and headed straight for Ranma's cot, "Ranma, you jerk!! How dare you make me worry about you again! Jerk! Idiot! Dumbass! You JERK!!" She collapsed against Ranma's chest, still pounding it weakly and sniffling. He looked down at her helplessly for a moment, then glanced over at Randy's cot. The purple-clad boy smirked at him and gave him a wink, then looked away from them toward the doorway. He smiled gratefully at the boy's back and gingerly put his arms around Akane's shoulders.  
  
Dr. Tofu silently entered the doorway and saw them, but they were too engrossed in the feeling of being in each other's arms to notice him. Randy got his attention and shook his head, then motioned that he was okay and that the doctor should go back out front. Tofu looked at him for a moment, then nodded and left the room again. Randy glanced at the couple next to him and smiled, then closed his eyes and began meditating.  
  
------ Later ------  
  
Ranma awoke to the completely alien sensation of complete silence. Normally he woke up to the sensation of weightlessness, accompanied by his father's booming voice screaming in his ear, followed by a bellyflop in the Koi pond and the inexplicable sensation of changing into the opposite sex in an instant. Waking to complete and total silence was... unnerving.  
  
He started to sit up, but a weight on his chest prevented him from doing so. Looking down, he froze as he realized that Akane was curled up next to him and was using his chest as a pillow. Thankfully he was still under the covers and she wasn't. Not that that helped his situtation any. He looked over at the other occupant of the room and saw that he seemed to be sleeping, and Doctor Tofu was nowhere in sight. He glanced down at Akane's sleeping face and stared.  
  
He suddenly wished he had a better angle to watch her from, because words could not describe the beauty of that angelic face. The face that normally wore a frown or a mask or, sometimes, a smile was now completely relaxed, the corners of her lips turned up. The only thing he could think of at that moment was how much she resembled an angel, and how much he loved her.  
  
Yes, he could admit it now, if to no one but himself. He loved Akane. He wasn't sure of the exact moment when he had fallen in love, but he knew that the moment he had cradled her in his arms and thought her to be dead, his whole world had crashed down around him, and he had realized that he couldn't live without his Uncute Tomboy.  
  
"Incoming." Randy's quiet voice broke through his thoughts and he looked over at the boy in the other cot as he opened his eyes and stiffly sat up.  
  
Ranma looked at him, confused, "What?"  
  
Randy rolled off of his cot and began doing some stretching exercises, "You're gonna be havin' company in a minute. See ya around." He stretched one last time and strolled out the door.  
  
Ranma stared after him for a moment, How does HE know I'm going to be having- He cut himself off and closed his eyes. Stretching out his senses, he finally noticed the hostile auras headed his way. "Great! Just what I need! More fighting." He glanced down at Akane again, wondering how to wake her without upseting her also.  
  
His problem appeared to have solved itself as Akane stared back up at him and blushed when she saw him looking at her. He stiffened and blushed nervously, "Um, did ya hear?"  
  
She nodded silently. He made motions to sit up, "Well, better get up and face the music, then." Akane looked disappointed, but nodded again and sat up herself.  
  
The voices of the Fiance Brigade finally made themselves known outside the building, though at their volume, it was a suprise they hadn't been heard earlier. The walls of the clinic muffled the actual words but Ranma didn't have to hear them to know what they were talking about. Or rather, arguing about.  
  
Doctor Tofu's mild voice sounded from the front room, attempting to calm the quarreling girls, but they barged straight into the back room anyway, squeezing through the door all at once. Ranma watched with growing ire as Shamppoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi fought one another to get through the door, then fought over who would get to hold which part of his body in "sympathy". Even Akane got caught up in the fight, although her enthusiasm wasn't as great as usual.  
  
Through all the commotion, none of them noticed that Ranma had yet to say a word. In fact, he had yet to move. His head was down and his hair hung low in front of his eyes, obscuring them from view. Finally Akane noticed the heat from his aura and stopped to actually look at him for the first time since the fight had begun, "R- Ranma?"  
  
"......" His words would have been too soft to be heard, even if there hadn't been an argument going on at the moment. A single tear fell from his bowed head to his lap, where it was absorbed into the material and faded away, leaving no evidence that it had ever fallen in the first place. Akane was the only one to see it fall and the image burned itself into her mind. She backed away from him, unsure of what to do.  
  
"Get away." This time the words were loud enough to be heard, but the sounds of the ongoing fight drowned them out. Akane took another involuntary step back, but reached out as if to touch him. Tears of her own came to her eyes as she watched Ranma's aura slowly pulse into the visible spectrum. Then his aura faded away, but Akane could still feel the pressure building. She backed all the way against the wall, frightened of the way he was acting and feeling helpless to stop the impending explosion.  
  
"I said... GET AWAY!!!" Ranma's aura burst forth and he jumped to his feet, shrugging off the clinging hands of his "fiances". They all looked at him in surprise as he stood there for a moment, his aura blazing around him. This was not his usual golden-red "confidence" aura. This one shifted and turned into a mess of colors, slowly turning into a swirling mix of angry red and a depressed blue. All of the girls shrank away from him.  
  
"Ranma-sama..." Kodachi was taken aback for a moment, but then moved to grab his arm again.  
  
He jerked away from her, his aura still blazing hotly, "Don't touch me!!" He glared at her, then at the rest of them in turn. His glare softened when he came to Akane and he looked at her for several seconds before renewing his glare at the rest of them, "You all think you can ruin my wedding and expect things to return to normal just like that?? Think again!! You all have never listened to me before, but now I'm going to have my say and you're going to LISTEN for once!"  
  
He turned and pointed at Kodachi, "Kodachi, leave me alone. I don't love you. I never have, and I doubt I ever will. I know you think you love me, but I just don't love you back."  
  
The red in his aura lessened as he turned to the next in line, "Shampoo, I don't love you. I will never marry you, even if you say we already are. We might'a had a friendship once, but you ruined -that- at the wedding also. I just can't trust you."  
  
There was even less red by this point, "Ukyo, we were best friends once. But I just don't love you the way you love me. To me, you're still my best friend. I know we're supposed to be engaged, but I just can't think of you as anything else. Maybe if things had worked out different, we could have been happy, but that ain't what happened."  
  
The red had all but faded out by now, replaced by the dark blue of sadness, "Akane, I- I'm tired of all the fighting. I'm just tired of it. I-" He broke off as his voice cracked, and his eyes filled with tears, "All of you... Please... Stop fighting. No more fighting. No more chasing. No more tricks. No more grabbing. No more hitting. No more... No more." He trailed off and abruptly sat down on the cot. Silent sobs wracked his body and he covered his face with his hands. The four girls looked on, unable to bring themselves to comfort him.  
  
Akane watched the depressed boy pour his heart out and her own heart wrenched in response. Her mind wrestled with her heart, telling her to stay away from the volatile package of emotion sitting on the cot. Then her famous temper flared up and drop-kicked her mind into the next day. Her temper was gone as quick as it had come, leaving only her heart in charge.  
  
She moved in front of the sobbing boy and knelt in front of him. She gently grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his face, which was streaked with tears. He raised his face and his overflowing eyes slowly moved up to meet her own glistening orbs, "A-" His voice caught and he started over, "Akane?" he asked hestitantly, wonderingly.  
  
The short-haired girl put a finger to his lips and shook her head. Then she removed her finger and replaced it with something softer. Ranma's eyes widened as their lips met, but he didn't pull away. Quite to the contrary, in fact. He closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, his arms coming up seemingly of their own violition and resting his hands on Akane's shoulders. The other girls saw this and knew in their hearts that they had just lost the battle for Ranma's heart. Not they had ever had a chance to begin with.  
  
Kodachi stood there, frozen. Her mind refused to believe what she was seeing in front of her, but somehow she knew that she had just lost her last chance to win "Ranma-sama's" affections.  
  
Shampoo stood rigidly, her fists at her side. She was attempting to glare at Akane- or maybe Ranma, she wasn't sure- but somehow she just couldn't muster the anger. Unbidden tears came to her eyes as she frowned half-heartedly at the kissing couple. Before- and even after- the wedding attempt, she had harbored a small flickering hope that Ranma hadn't chosen Akane, but the evidence to the contrary was sitting right in front of her, eerily sharp in its clarity.  
  
Ukyo's heart broke as she realized the implications of what was happening. Her Ran-chan was voluntarily kissing his "uncute fiance", the one he had always complained about to her, the one who always assumed the worst of him, the one who always hit him with her mallet after said assumption. Somehow, the violent tomboy had managed to do what the "cute fiance" hadn't. Somehow, Akane had gotten Ranma to-  
  
Ranma reveled in the new feelings washing over him as he lost himself in the kiss. It was soft and sweet. It was sharp and sour. It was beautiful. It was- It was- He couldn't find the words to describe it, but he knew it was nothing like the kisses that had been stolen from him by the other fiances.  
  
He opened his eyes when Akane broke away and they both leaned back slightly, breathing a heavily. They looked into each others eyes for a moment longer. Then Ranma tightened his grip on her shoulders and leaned forward earnestly, "Akane, I love you."  
  
Akane's eyes sparkled with joy and she smiled up at him, "And I love you, Ranma."  
  
There was no denying it now. It was official. Ranma Saotome had chosen.  
  
------End Day 02, Part B ------  
  
Author's Notes: Well?? Was it worth the wait? I certainly hope so, as I doubt I'll ever write that much WAFF in one scene again. I'm not much for Romance, being more the Action/Adventure type myself, but that seems to be the way this story's headed for the most part, so wish me luck in bringing you more WAFF.  
  
Anyways, the first clash between Ranma and Randy has resulted in a tie. What will their next encounter be like?? Look forward to the next encounter with the Lightning Master! Oh! And wish Ranma luck; he's going to need it.  
  
If you're confused about the Elements, go read my other main story, Chaos OneHalf. I have mostly explained what the Elements are and how they work in that story already, although I will probably go over them again in this one. Eventually.  
  
--- Current List of Finishing Moves ---  
  
Ranma:  
Katsu Tenshin Amaguri-ken: Ki is channeled to Ranma's arms and upper body to greatly increase punching speed.  
Mouko Takabisha: Ki is channeled with Ranma's emotions and fired at the opponent in the form of a sphere.  
Hiryu Shouten Ha: Ranma's cold Aura is injected into the opponent's hot Aura via an uppercut to generate a tornado.  
  
Ryouga:  
Bakusai Tenketsu - Ki is channeled into the tip of Ryouga's index finger, then jammed into the breaking point of a solid object to cause an explosion.  
  
Randy:  
Electro-Walk: Randy can walk on electro-magnetic platforms in mid-air using metal plates in soles of his boots.  
Lightning Spear: Lightning gathers from all over his body to Randy's fingertip for a moment before firing at the opponent.  
Lightning Speed: Ki is channeled through the whole body to greatly increase Randy's speed.  
  
Hello?  
  
Anyone out there?  
  
Anybody??  
  
sigh 


End file.
